All characters are copyright Tecmo, Ltd.

I have been reading DOA2 fics for a little while and have noticed something. Nobody likes Zack! Well, since he is my favorite character/fighter in the game, I decided to take it upon myself to even up the score a bit, so to speak. All Zack-haters should leave now, and don't let the door hit you on the way out. :)

Words in Italics are a person's thoughts. That's right, I can read minds. And now, with html format, the italics actually ARE in italics. Amazing! I should note that Microsoft Word keeps wanting to replace "Zack" with "Sack" for some reason...

Running Afoul of the Female Tengu

Chapter 1 – Zack Makes a Save

Damn, wish I'd brought my board, he thought as he stood in the snowy, mountainous area. The fight had been a tough one. No, tough was an understatement, it had been brutal; and deep down Zack knew that luck might have been on his side this time.

His unconscious (former) opponent lay in the snow. At a crucial moment, Zack had struck with his Overhead Kick. He had expected the old man to land hard in the snow behind him, but when he turned around his opponent was nowhere to be seen. Zack himself almost did not see the drop, but did see his opponent slowly getting to his feet in an area below him. He had leapt down the twenty-five feet and finished off his still-dazed opponent with a Slam Knuckle.

Before the fight, the old man had said something to him with a serious look in his eye. Unfortunately, Zack did not understand Chinese, and had only shrugged in response. He recognized the old man from the first Dead or Alive Tournament. What was his name again…? Gen-Fu, that's it. Presently, he was waiting to make sure the old man was not too seriously injured. Despite the ominous name of the Tournament, Zack was not about to leave the man to die out here if he was hurt.

Didn't mean for you to take such a spill, old timer, he grinned, but I'll take the win anyway. Despite his cocky attitude, Zack was not devoid of emotion, and he respected Gen-Fu for being such a powerful fighter for his advanced years. He still thought fondly of the rewards of winning the Tournament, however. "World Combat Champion" would definitely add to his repertoire of pick-up lines.

He would try to bring Gen-Fu around in a few seconds, but for now he wanted to take some time to enjoy the scenery, even if said scenery was causing him to freeze his butt off. "Guess I should learn to dress for the weather, but how could I fight without my lucky shorts?" he wondered aloud.

The wind was blowing strongly in his direction. He tried his best to ignore it, but paid more attention when it suddenly began carrying strange sounds to his ears. It was faint, but he thought he could hear… people. Who else'd be out here? Thought only world-class fighters hung out in places like this, he thought as he tried to tell where in the world of stone and snow the sound was coming from.

Walking in the direction of the noise, he began too see the other side of the depression he and Gen-Fu had finished in. The sounds, louder now, were coming from above his position and sounded human, he could tell that much. Just when he was wondering how he was going to get out of the giant hole he appeared to be standing in, something caught his attention.

A blue and beige object appeared suddenly in the sky above, before plummeting down into the snow at his level and landing with a sickening thud. It happened so quickly that it took him a moment to realize that the object was in fact a person. Shit, he thought, remembering the main reason he was somewhat concerned for Gen-Fu was that the snow down here was not as deep, something he discovered when he had jumped down earlier.

He took a couple steps towards the vague form, which had just begun to stir on the ground, when he heard someone else land in the snow as well. This was a much softer sound, however, and he immediately guessed that whoever it was had jumped down.

Turning in the direction of the noise, he could make out the second person more clearly, though they were significantly further away from him than the first. It was a young girl with bright purple hair, wearing some sort of odd outfit that was a darker purple. Even though he could well have been in her field of vision, she did not seem to notice him and instead appeared to be staring intently at the first person. It did not take much thought for him to guess what was going on.

Even from a distance, he could see the hateful glare in her reddish eyes, and somehow he knew that she had not accidentally caused the other's fall. He could also tell that she was not through causing damage, either.

He turned back to the first individual, who he could see better now as she had risen to her hands and knees. It was another young woman, with brown hair. She had a light blue outfit or uniform on that didn't look like it provided a lot more warmth than Zack's own attire. From the sluggishness with which she moved he could tell she was pretty shaken up by the fall. This girl looks in a pretty bad way. But, who wouldn't be? That looks like an even bigger drop than the one back there.

He hesitated, unsure of whether to step into this situation or not. Ah, not really my-, he was thinking, when he heard her.

The purple-haired girl was now talking to herself, apparently, her glaring eyes becoming more intense. She was doing something strange with her hands, too. Zack gaped in shock as what looked like a bright line or slash appeared in the air by her hands.

She was still staring intently at the other girl, who was wearily trying to stand up; unaware of what was going on behind her. Purple-hair's voice was getting louder. Another bright slash appeared in the air.

Zack had no idea what she was mumbling. Still, he could guess her intent easily from her body language and thought, this can't be good.

He was never exactly sure of what made him do what he did. But, as more slashes of light appeared in the air next to the ranting purple-haired girl, he stopped thinking and started moving.

He ran as fast as he could right towards the girl in blue, trying his hardest not to focus on the view of her cleavage he was getting. Can't.. look.. at.., his thoughts were cut off when she raised her face and looked at him in surprise as he rapidly approached. Her face almost caused him to stumble in mid-stride. Zack threw himself with all his remaining energy at the young woman.

Even in mid-air he could feel something, some energy or force rushing in their direction. He collided with his target, knocking them both flat to the snowy ground. As he went down, he felt something graze his back, burning him slightly, but he was too out of breath to make a vocal reaction to it.

Pulling himself up off the ground with one hand exploring the burn on his back, he decided it was ultimately the young woman's beauty that had caused him to rescue her. Couldn't let such a cutie get hurt, that's all, he rationalized. He looked back in the direction of the assailant, to see if she was going fire another… thing at them. The purple-haired girl was much closer now.

Uh-oh, was all he had time to think before she kicked him so hard and fast in the chin that he felt like Chris Tucker in Rush Hour 2. He fell onto his back and then felt her booted foot slam into his midsection, driving the wind out of him. She reached down and grabbed a fistful of his shirt, pulling him up halfway, then backhand slapped him across the face with surprising force while screaming at him in Japanese. He wondered if she could see through his dark sunglasses and had noticed him noticing her equally impressive chest. Nah, I had these specially tinted to prevent that, he thought, spitting out blood.

He managed to block her next swing and shove her off of him, but she deftly hopped into the air and snapped out a kick that caught him in the chest and knocked him onto his back again. Great, now she gonna kill me instead, he lamented, but I'm not just gonna lay back and let it happen.

He rose to his feet, blood trickling out from the corner of his mouth. She smiled wickedly, sadistically at him; like a shark circling wounded prey. A derisive laugh was halfway out of her mouth when something slammed into her from behind, causing her to go sprawling forward into the snow.

The other girl stood right behind the spot where his attacker had just been. Before Zack could give her a smile of gratitude, however, she fell down onto one knee.

The purple-haired girl was getting up, but her focus was momentarily disrupted so Zack took the opportunity to hit her on the top of the head with a Down Elbow. He connected solidly and she landed roughly in the snow on her rearend.

She rolled away and got quickly to her feet, preparing for another attack. "Feisty little thang, ain't you?" he said, hoping to distract her.

Gen-Fu came in so fast from the side that she barely had time to block his So-Ha strike. Still, the force of it caused her to stumble back several feet. Gen-Fu, though obviously hurt, stood as steadily as he could in a fighting stance directed at the purple-haired girl. Meanwhile, the other young woman got up again and faced her earlier opponent as well, making it three-on-one.

Though the three did not really know each other, they could all tell who had the evil intent here. It must have been the eyes.

Kasumi: I cannot allow my sister to continue her killing ways. I wish she would give up living in the darkness.

Gen-Fu: There is an... evil radiating from this child.

Zack: This is one crazy bitch!

Seeing the odds were against her, she yelled something in Japanese that Zack was sure would have been inappropriate for a family audience and darted away. He was trying to see where she was going so he would know how to get out of this giant hole when he heard two, almost simultaneous, thumps.

He looked to see Gen-Fu and the girl, whom he recognized now from the first Dead or Alive Tournament also, both on the ground. When he looked up again, the other girl was gone.

D'oh, he thought despairingly. He looked towards Gen-Fu, who was lying on his back but leaning up on one elbow.

"You gonna make it?" he asked, not sure if the older man would even understand him. One of these days, I have got to learn some languages other than English.

Gen-Fu merely pointed towards the young woman. "Oh," Zack said as he registered that she was lying facedown in the snow. Zack knelt down and gently rolled her onto her back. She peered up at him groggily.

"Hey, you still breathin'?" he asked, giving her what he thought was an impressive grin. She blinked.

"Do. You. Speak. English?" he asked in a loud and exaggerated manner.

"Yes," came her weak reply, "and I will live… for now," she said as she glanced at their surroundings.

"Wait a minute now… I remember you! Your name's… Lei-Fang or somethin' like that, right?"

She made a small smile and managed to say, "Kasumi."

"Oops," he said, standing up. "Don't worry guys, I'll get us out of here before we get turned to a demographically diverse crew of snowpeople." He laughed at his own joke when no one else did.

He looked to his left and saw rock. He looked to his right and saw more rock. In front of him, rock covered with snow. He turned around and saw the exact same thing, only further away.

"SHIT!"